Paul Gregg (born 1941 in
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...
[Guthrie, Jonathon. (31 August 2004]
/ Home UK / UK – Pure theatre on and off the football pitch
Ft.com.) is a businessman and entertainment impresario, who built Apollo Leisure Group into the UK's biggest theatre owner and largest independent family run cinema chain in the United Kingdom
After selling Apollo to SFX Group in 1999, and leaving new owners
Clear Channel, he was a large stake holder in
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1878, the club was a founding member of the Football Lea ...
, before falling out with former friend
Bill Kenwright
William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023.
Early life
Kenwright was born in ...
in 2004, and selling his stake in October 2006 to
Robert Earl
Robert Earl (born 29 May 1951) is an English-American film producer, investor, restaurateur, and television personality. He is the founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood, chairman of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and host of ...
.
Apollo Leisure Group
Gregg's early career was in ABC cinema followed by a managing a Social Club at Cowley at the huge British Leyland site. Moving up north to Southport, Gregg became the Director of Tourism and Attractions for Southport. During his time working for Sefton Council, the Southport Theatre Complex was built adjacent to the Floral Hall venue. This provided the town with two venues that went on to host some huge stars performing that had never before been seen in Southport. Following his departure from Sefton and a brief post with the Prince of Wales Hotel group, an opportunity came in 1977, aged 36, to purchase the Ardwick Theatre in Manchester – soon followed by the New Theatre in Oxford – and so Apollo Leisure had lift off, and gradually over the following years Apollo became the biggest theatre owners/management team in the United Kingdom.
Gregg built his empire by taking over struggling venues and turning them round. The
Liverpool Empire Theatre
The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...
, which was losing £750,000 a year under the
Derek Hatton
Derek Anthony Hatton (born 17 January 1948) is a British former politician, later a broadcaster, property developer and businessman. He gained national prominence as deputy leader of Liverpool City Council in the 1980s and was a member of the T ...
led council, was leased to become a home to big musicals. Gregg also reopened the
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
in London in the 1990s at a cost of £14 million, after the theatre had been closed for 10 years.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
's revival of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'' ran for two years, followed by
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''.
On 28 September 1982 in association with friend
Bill Kenwright
William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023.
Early life
Kenwright was born in ...
, Gregg co-produced a production of ''
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' at the Cambridge Theatre, London.
The eventual portfolio of venues included
The Point Theatre in Dublin, the
Sheffield Arena
Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall Centre, Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centr ...
and
Wales National Ice Rink in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
; as well as 23 theatres nationwide, including:
Hammersmith Apollo
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
, the Apollo Victoria and the
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
in London; the
Bristol Hippodrome
The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as r ...
; the
Edinburgh Playhouse
Edinburgh Playhouse is a theatre in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of For ...
; the Old Fire Station and
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
; Grand Opera House in
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
; the Opera House, Palace and Apollo Ardwick in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
; the Liverpool Empire and the Floral Hall in
Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
. Apollo also owned Tickets Direct, which sold around £6 million theatre and concert tickets in 1999.
On 6 August 1999, Apollo accepted a takeover offer from the American entertainment corporation SFX for £158 million, because: ''"We were running a family business and suddenly we realised there were 5,000 people in the family."''
Gregg and his family owned 80% of the company, and received between them £126 million worth of shares and loan stock in SFX.
SFX also agreed to acquire The Barry Clayman Corporation, 50% owned by the shareholders of Apollo, which promotes concert and entertainment events, and whose European tour artists include:
Riverdance
''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time.
He has written and ...
,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
,
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
and
Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
.
Paul Gregg stayed on, becoming European Chairman of the enlarged SFX group. Gregg approached producer
David Ian
David Ian (born David Ian Lane; February 1961) is a British theatre producer and former actor.
Biography
Ian started out as an actor and appeared in a number of UK theatre productions, including the musicals ''The Pirates of Penzance'', '' Jo ...
to head up the theatre division, but Ian refused. After, the SFX Entertainment division was acquired by
Clear Channel in 2000. Gregg eventually persuaded Ian to join the group by absorbing Ian's joint venture with actor
Paul Nicholas
Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer best known for starring as Vince Pinner in the BBC television sitcom '' Just Good Friends'' (1983—86). The show won a BAFTA and Nicholas was nominated ...
, and made Ian head of the European Theatre group before he left. Ian took over Gregg's role as European managing director of Entertainment at Clear Channel.
Apollo Cinemas
In 2004, Gregg bought back the
Apollo Cinemas Apollo Cinemas was a locally focused, independently owned multiplex cinema operator in the United Kingdom. It showed mainstream blockbusters, independent film and onscreen entertainment such as music concerts, sporting events, opera, and ballet.
...
chain from Clear Channel for £23 million, before the European theatres were spun out into sister company
Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
. Apollo instantly became the largest independently owned UK cinema chain, operating from 13 locations and having 78 screens and four bingo halls.
Apollo also announced plans to open London's first West End multiplex cinema in a decade. A new five-screen complex will be part of a £70 million scheme to enhance lower
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...
. Four more new regional complexes are under development.
Together, cinemas and bingo generated pre-tax profits of about £1.5 million on turnover of £12.2 million in the year to 25 March 2004. From this, the Paul Gregg took £240,000 in dividends.
Everton F.C.
Paul Gregg invested £7 million in True Blue Holdings Ltd, which took the majority share holding in
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1878, the club was a founding member of the Football Lea ...
in 2000 from former chairman
Peter Johnson. Gregg first came to the attention of Everton fans, when he became the main driver behind the
King's Dock scheme, promising to plough in an additional £30 million to get the project moving.
Apollo Resorts & Leisure
Gregg's company recently won the first new large casino licence to be awarded in the UK winning the new licence for Manor Mills,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft
* Submarine hull
Ma ...
.
Work Begins On Huge Hull Casino
Gamblingkingz.com. The company have just recently completed a successful application in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
and are short listed for licences in Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
and Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Paul
People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire
British businesspeople
1941 births
Living people